


Arranged Marriage

by Lunatasha



Category: Bleach
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Smuttish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-07 22:21:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1916016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunatasha/pseuds/Lunatasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rukia is being pressured by the Kuchiki family to get married to an appropriate suitor in order to produce heirs. She reluctantly agreed. Ichigo however, is a little bit more argumentative.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Family Pressures

**Author's Note:**

> This is a multi-chapter fic that kinda spun off a oneshot I did a year ago now. This first chapter is more or less the same as the oneshot (which is posted here) with bits edited here and there to make it more appropriate as a first chapter of a multi-chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Ichigo stared at the girl sitting on his bed, knees tucked up to her chest. He had always joked about how small she was, calling her a midget and whatnot, but it genuinely surprised him how small she looked now. Despite the serious situation, Ichigo couldn't stop himself from wondering if that was one of the reasons Rukia hated opening up and being vulnerable. Ichigo knew full well that Rukia was clueless on what to do next, even though she would never admit it. It did all happen pretty fast. Both Byakuya and Rukia had almost died in the battle just gone. Ichigo understood that if both of them died, then the Kuchiki family didn't have anyone to take over as head of the family. He also understood why the family were being so hasty, but what it meant was that all of sudden Rukia was expected to get married and have children with some 'respectable' noble man that she hadn't even met yet. Ichigo did understand why the Kuchiki family were doing it, but that didn't mean it wasn't pissing him off beyond belief. Admittedly, Ichigo didn't know all of the details, but from what he had gathered, she was going to meet a carefully selected group of men and she would then choose from them.

The marriage itself didn't bother Ichigo. Well that's what he told himself, but he was struggling to believe it. Not that it mattered anyway. This was about her. Ichigo did not save her from that damn tower for her to get locked up again. He knew it wasn't the only reason this bothered him, but he had already come to the decision that any romantic feelings he had for Rukia had to be shut down now, given the circumstances. What she needed right now was a friend to lean on, not someone to complicate things further. Ichigo sighed. Rukia told him that she had agreed, but he doubted she had a choice. Ichigo doubted that even Byakuya has a choice in the matter, otherwise surely he would've tried to do something. Unless he was in the process of trying to do something. Ichigo clenched his fists, trying his hardest not to put them through the wall. How could they do this to her? Ichigo stared at Rukia again, studying her face. Ichigo was usually good at reading her expression, but he couldn't figure this one out.

This was a difficult situation to say the least, and Ichigo was very aware that this wasn't a situation you could fix with fighting. It needed to be handled with care, something that Ichigo was never really good at. Truth be told, Ichigo kinda felt like crying for Rukia as he realised how hard it would be to get out of this. Although, Rukia wasn't even looking for a way out. Running away wasn't really her sort of thing. She was looking for a way to cope. Ichigo sighed again as he walked over to the bed and sat down next to Rukia. She had been silent for a while now, waiting for Ichigo to talk.

“It might not be so bad.” Rukia looked up at Ichigo, confusion in her eyes. Ichigo felt awkward, he was never good at the whole talking thing, but it was what Rukia needed. “I mean, I know it seems really scary, but arranged marriages can work. And it's not like your choice isn't taken into account.”

Rukia shrugged. “It doesn't matter that I get to pick. They're all the same really.”

“What are they like?”

Rukia sighed angrily. “None of them seem to do much. Most of them seem to spend their time lounging around, taking part in hobbies, that sort of thing.”

“Maybe that's not so bad. What if you share interests?”

“But I don't want to spend my time lying around. I want to continue being a shinigami, I want to keep my position.”

Ichigo was starting to understand why this was freaking Rukia out so much. This marriage didn't just mean getting married and having kids, it meant a radical lifestyle change. Nobles were traditional, there was no question about that. Ichigo reckoned that a traditional noble guy having a wife who was a Vice-Captain (or any other high position in the Gotei 13) was probably unheard of. Ichigo doubted that her potential suitors wanted a wife who appeared more accomplished than them. Or, if one of the potential suitors was actually a good match for Rukia and well and truly cared about Rukia, what was the likelihood that he wanted her to go into the field?

Ichigo was more than aware that Rukia could take care of herself, but he doubted that the nobles would believe that. She was tiny, and not to mention female. Ichigo knew full well that the idea that men made better soldiers than women was bullshit, but the chances of the traditional noble men sharing this view was low. The way Rukia acted around Ichigo was proof that she could take care of herself. But then again, she couldn't act like that in front of these men. Ever. Ichigo scowled as he realised that Rukia wouldn't be able to be herself in front of these potential suitors. She wouldn't be able to keep the dreams and goals she had. Christ, would she even be allowed to come and visit the human world? Would Ichigo ever see her again? Ichigo shook his head. Nope. Rukia wasn't ok with this, and Ichigo certainly wasn't.

“I'll do something.”

Rukia rolled her eyes. “There's nothing you can do.”

Ichigo spoke harshly. “Bullshit.” Rukia quickly tilted her head up to look at Ichigo, surprised at his sudden change of mood. “There's nothing you can do. You're in a too awkward position, but that doesn't stop me. And it won't stop me. I can't let this happen Rukia. Maybe I could if you were happy but you're not.”

Rukia glared at him. “What are you gonna do? Barge into my family's house, demand that they change what's happening? That's not going to do anything. You'll just get yourself thrown out. You can't fight this!”

“That doesn't mean I won't try.”

“What's the point? You know it will fail, so why even try?”

Ichigo stood up from the bed and started pacing around the room. “Because I have to Rukia! It's bad enough that I have to stand by and see you get married to someone else, but someone you don't even love? Someone that doesn't make you happy? I can't...”

Ichigo trailed off, only just realising what he had said. Judging from the look on Rukia's face, she had noticed it too. It was last thing Ichigo wanted to tell her right now. Rukia needed a friend right now, someone she could talk to. Instead of helping her, he was complicating things, something she really didn't need right now. Rukia stood up and took a few steps toward Ichigo. “What do you mean, it's bad enough that I have to stand by and see you get married to someone else?”

Ichigo scowled at her. Surely she knew what he meant, yet she asking anyway. His scowl faltered however, after he caught sight of her expression. She looked desperate for an answer. “What I meant, I mean...you shouldn't...you shouldn't marry someone else. You should stay with me. But it's impossible, I know that. So just ignore that I ever said it.”

Rukia shook her head. “You know as well as I do that I can't forget that.” All Ichigo wanted to do was hug her when he watched her eyes gloss over with unshed tears, but he didn't want to make the situation any worse. Rukia's lip trembled slightly before she punched Ichigo hard in the chest. “That's not fair Ichigo! You can't tell me that! Not now! I'm supposed to be getting married soon! Why are you making this harder than they need to be?”

Ichigo felt empty inside. Making things harder? Did she mean that she liked him back but couldn't act on it any more? Or that the friend she thought she could rely on just made talking about her future marriage a hell of a load more awkward? Ichigo had no idea. And he really needed to know. “How am I making things harder?

“Because! Because...I have to marry someone soon...And I know I don't want to marry people like them. I want...” Ichigo raised an eyebrow, coaxing her to go on. “I want...Someone like you.” Ichigo was usually bad at reading between the lines, but he knew full well that 'someone like you' was actually code for 'you'. Ichigo was an oddity, there wasn't anybody like him, not in her world. But Rukia's inability to be open made it damn near impossible for her to actually say it. “But it's not an option. It was easier to ignore what I wanted because I didn't think it would ever work, but now you're telling me that I should be with you and I...”

Ichigo finished the sentence for her. “And you can't. Even though it's what you want.” Ichigo knew the lack of a reaction meant he was right. Talk about a hollow victory. “I'm sorry Rukia. I knew I shouldn't have said it. I never meant to say it. I just-”

She nodded, cutting Ichigo off. “I know. You never think before doing.”

“Tch. I think you think too much. Did you even object to this sudden arrangement or were you too busy thinking about the consequences?”

“I tried to object. But it's a little difficult to object when every 15 seconds they complain at you about your manners, or how much I owe them for adopting me.”

Yeah, that didn't surprise Ichigo. “Ok well ignoring that, you still over-think. You should try being impulsive from time to time.”

Rukia raised an eyebrow at Ichigo, an apprehensive look on her face. “Like now?”

Ichigo knew he was about to make an ass of himself, but he didn't care. This could be the last time he'd see her for all he knew. He knew if he didn't do something now he'd miss his chance. “Yeah, like now.”

Rukia shook her head. “Ichigo, you know that's not a good idea.”

“I don't care Rukia. I know it's a mistake. But sometimes you have to make mistakes. Because even though pretty much all the evidence points to the fact that it's a mistake there's still a tiny chance that it's not, so you try anyway.”

“That's stupid, you realise that?”

“Maybe. It probably is a mistake. But you haven't said no yet. You're not actually all that opposed to it, so surely that means that there's a chance that it isn't a mistake.” Ichigo knew Rukia would never make the first move, but Ichigo got the feeling that she wasn't going to object if he did. But it was better that way, because if it did turn out to be a mistake, at least she could blame it on him. Ichigo bent down and closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rukia made a small sounds of surprise, standing stiffly for a moment before giving in, tiptoeing to wrap her arms around Ichigo's neck, returning the kiss. Ichigo pulled Rukia closer, making her whimper slightly. Ichigo, realising that she had been on her tiptoes for a good minute now, lifted her up and wrapped her legs round his waist, having no intention of stopping if she didn't. He wouldn't hesitate to stop if Rukia wanted to, but she showed no signs of slowing yet.

She broke away from the kiss, breathing heavily, resting her head on Ichigo's shoulder. He looked carefully for any signs of worry on Rukia's face, but instead he found an small, very embarrassed smile on her face. He smiled before kissing her on the cheek. Hilariously enough, little gestures like that seemed to embarrass her more, Rukia's face going even redder than it was before. Ichigo kissed her on the mouth again, before catching her neck and sucking hard. She gasped loudly before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. Ichigo smirked against her neck. “Rukia, no one's home. Dad's god knows where and the twins are on a school trip. You don't have to worry about being quiet.”

“I know...But...It's embarrassing.”

A kind smile replaced the smirk on Ichigo's face. He knew full well that she could be pretty self-conscious. And it was to be expected really, in this situation. He doubted she had ever been in such a position.

“Ichigo?”

Rukia's quiet voice pulled Ichigo out of his thoughts, studying her face for a moment. Ichigo had seen that expression several times before, she was worried about him. He mumbled out a quick sorry before continuing, making her dig the nails into the back of his neck. At the minute, Ichigo wanted to focus on this and only this. He started trailing his tongue from her collarbone down, making Rukia's breath hitch. Ichigo lifted her higher on his body so he didn't have to crane his neck down so much. It was cute that she was so small, but it did create certain logistical problems.

I didn't take long for it to become apparent that her dress was getting in the way. Ichigo pulled it over her head easily, making Rukia go bright red. She paused for a moment before pulling Ichigo's arms away from her, keeping herself wrapped around him with her thighs alone. She roughly grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled up. Ichigo lifted his arms and helped her pull his top off, it joining her dress on the floor. Rukia grabbed Ichigo's neck and pulled him towards her, kissing him. Clearly she wanted to start taking matters into her own hands, but Ichigo was having none of it. He wanted tonight to be about her. Ichigo gripped her waist securely and pulled her away from himself before practically throwing her on the bed. He followed, straddling her, putting most of his weight on his knees so he didn't hurt her.

Ichigo looked down at Rukia for a moment, making her blush and turn her head. He leant forward and kissed her, sliding his hands from her waist to her breasts, kneading softly. Rukia gasped before reaching up and slapping Ichigo lightly. Ichigo stopped immediately, looking closely at Rukia. She rolled her eyes, looking away. “You're gonna ruin my bra if you continue like that.”

“Oh..Oh right! So you're still happy to continue? You don't wanna stop?”

Rukia nodded a little, still looking away. “If I want you to stop I'll tell you, ok?”

“You sure?”

Rukia turned to face Ichigo, nodding again. Ichigo leant forward again, reaching behind her back, fumbling a bit before getting her bra undone, leaving Rukia trying to stifle giggles. He smiled down at her, hooking his fingers under her bra straps and pulling down gently.

With cheeks tinged with pink, Rukia watched as Ichigo kissed a path from her shoulder to her breast before latching on to her nipple and sucking. She cried out, arching her back towards Ichigo, dragging her nails down his back. Ichigo hissed slightly. He'd be lying if he said he didn't like it. She bucked her hips up, meeting Ichigo's, making both of them groan. Ichigo hesitated for a moment before sliding his right hand down to her hip. He looked up at Rukia to find her watching him, waiting for him to continue. “Yeah?”

Rukia nodded slightly. “Yeah.”

Ichigo brought his hand from her hip and dipped in between her legs, causing her breath to hitch. He started stroking her gently through her underwear, watching her reactions carefully. He changed his position slightly, the sounds escaping Rukia making Ichigo painfully aware that skinny jeans were a poor clothing choice in these sort of situations. She started wriggling slightly, and Ichigo took that as a cue to go faster. He tried rubbing her a little harder, and she moaned louder, hands clinging to his arm. Ichigo pulled away and placed both hands on her hips. Rukia pouted slightly, speaking breathlessly. “Why did you stop?”

“I wanna try something.”

Ichigo hooked a finger on either side of her underwear and pulled down, tossing the article of clothing to the side. The red returned to Rukia's face, and Ichigo noticed that she seemed to be fighting the urge to cover herself.

Ichigo moved up and kissed her on the lips. “You're so beautiful.” Ichigo smiled, truly smiled, when Rukia tilted her her head up to look at him straight in the eyes with a mixture of vulnerability, gratitude, and her usual spark. Ichigo held eye contact as he kissed a line down her body, feeling her pulse speed up as he got lower. Ichigo stopped as he got to her belly button and looked up. He saw some insecurity, but her eyes were daring. Remembering that Rukia had said she would stop him if she wanted him to, he continued kissing down, gently spreading her legs. Rukia's breath hitched when Ichigo kissed her clit. Ichigo paused for a moment. He knew what to do in theory, but it was strange, actually doing it for real. He looked up at Rukia's face, watching her facial expression as he darted his tongue out against the area he just kissed, earning a loud gasp. Ichigo took that as a good reaction and continued, stroking his tongue against her clit repeatedly.

He was tempted to try and 'explore' a bit, to try and learn her body, but Rukia's hands seemed quite determined to keep him right where he was. Ichigo obeyed, trying different techniques instead, watching her to see what she liked best, watching her lose control of her own reactions, even her own muscles. She moved to unclench her thighs from his face, but instead Ichigo pulled her legs towards him, positioning her calves on his back, her knees bending over his shoulders. If he did this right her thighs were only going to end clamming tight again anyway. He gripped her hips tightly, in an attempt to stop them from bucking too much as he worked his tongue on her. Ichigo kept up a steady pace, stroking his tongue over her clit over and over, but he desperately wanted to push her over the edge. He started working faster, with more force, causing Rukia to moan louder, gripping his hair tightly, but it wasn't quite enough. After thinking for moment, Ichigo sucked on her clit making her cry out loudly, muscles jolting, taking Ichigo by surprise.

He pulled back for a moment. Had she orgasmed? Ichigo looked up, watching Rukia as her breathing calmed down a bit before looking back down. She looked a lot wetter than she was before, and while she looked embarrassed, she did look pleased.

“Did..Did you?”

Rukia nodded, still struggling to catch her breath. After a few moments Rukia opened her eyes and looked over to Ichigo. She sat up, her knees now bending over the edge of the bed rather than Ichigo's shoulders, pulling at Ichigo's arms so he stood up, now looking down at her from between her legs.

Rukia looked up at Ichigo, her face still slightly flushed from her climax, before turning her attention on his belt. By the time Ichigo had figured out what she was planning on doing Rukia had already thrown the belt half way across the room, his trousers around his ankles. Ichigo looked into her eyes. He had wanted this to be about her, he wanted to make her happy, for her to be the focus, but he wasn't about to complain if she was going to reciprocate. Ichigo stepped out of the trousers and kicked them to the side. Rukia appeared to be a little nervous about taking off the last article of clothing however.

“Rukia, if you don't want to you-”

“I do, it's just...”

Ichigo knelt down on the floor so they could be face to face. “What?”

Rukia took a deep breath before speaking, admitting weakness was not an easy thing for her. “I don't really know what I'm doing.”

“Rukia, neither do I.”

Her face flushed, and she replied in a quieter voice. “I beg to differ.”

Ichigo grinned. “Well ok, but I've never actually done anything before. Besides, guys are a lot easier to get off than women, you'll be fine.” Ichigo kept smiling as Rukia rolled her eyes.

“Only you could be so crude in about 10 words.”

“Oh I dunno, I could've said something worse.”

Rukia rolled her eyes again. “Don't.”

“I won't, I won't. You seem to get embarrassed quite easily in these situations.”

“Why are you saying that like it's a weird thing!?”

Ichigo shrugged. “I'm not saying it's weird, but, well, from what I've heard people may age just kinda go through all of it without stopping to think and get embarrassed. Teenagers aren't as careful as they should be half the time.”

Rukia nodded slightly. “Hmm. I've noticed that humans generally seem more...Eager than shinigami.”

“Tell me about it. If it wasn't for a certain few Vice-Captains I wouldn't have even realised that you guys have sex drives.”

“Yeah. There's actually a reason for that.”

“Oh?”

Rukia nodded again. “Yeah. You know how pregnancy for humans is pretty exhausting?” It has a tendency to be worse for souls. You have to have a decent level of reiatsu to be able to withstand it, because of that reason it's only those who have higher levels of reiatsu that experience sexual desire.”

Ichigo nodded a little, digesting the information, it's not what he expected, but he guessed it made sense. “How high do the levels need to be?”

“Oh not very. Any shinigami would be capable, as well as Rukongai residents here and there, it's not like you need a Captain's level of reiatsu to have children, but lack of reiatsu is the reason why you don't see many infants in Rukongai.”

“Right. Using that logic, surely the higher the levels of reiatsu, the better off the mother and child will be?”

“Probably. I think so anyway.”

“I imagine that makes you pretty desirable.”

Rukia shrugged. “If you say so.”

Ichigo couldn't decipher the look on Rukia's face, so he tried elaborating. “In terms of noble marriage anyway. I can think of several other factors that make you desirable.” Rukia's expression turned to one of disbelief, albeit with a light blush on her face. “For example, you're beautiful, you're cute, you kick ass-”

“That's not a desirable trait for a noble woman you know.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Maybe not for some people, but hey it works for me.”

Rukia bit back a laugh. “I swear you're a masochist.”

“Well maybe a little.” Ichigo winked at Rukia in an exaggerated manner, making her giggle. Ichigo leant forward to kiss her gently, which Rukia responded to happily, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ichigo couldn't remember how she ended up in his lap, but she did. He pulled away, but Rukia didn't. She went to kiss him again, being stopped by Ichigo firmly putting his hands on her hips. “Rukia?”

Rukia pulled back a little. “Yeah?”

“Um, if the higher reiatsu you have correlates to how easily you have children, if this a good idea? Given that I er, don't have any protection?”

Rukia looked up at Ichigo. “Oh,” she spoke quietly, blushing, “Probably not. I hadn't thought of that.”

Ichigo kissed her neck lightly before speaking against her skin. “Hmm. Maybe you're just as bad as us eager humans.” Rukia sent Ichigo a glare, but the effect was diminished as she was blushing furiously. Ichigo couldn't help but tease her a bit. “I wonder if sexual desire is correlated to reiatsu as well. I mean, that would make your libido pretty damn high.”

“Well that theory would certainly explain you.”

Ichigo laughed. “Only you would manage to come back with something like that while you're naked and flustered.”

“Damn straight.”

Ichigo smiled, kissing her briefly again. Rukia rested her head on his shoulder, her hands placed on his chest. She took a deep breath. “Ichigo?”

“Yeah?”

“I don't want to marry someone else.”

Ichigo nodded. “I know. If you did, you wouldn't still be here.” Rukia stayed silent. “Do you even want to get married?”

Rukia nodded. “I do, I think. I've always liked the idea of getting married, but it was always something I figured would happen much later on.”

That wasn't all too surprising to Ichigo. She may be a lot older than him, but she was still very young in terms of shinigami. “ I see.” He held his breath for a moment, his voice coming out quieter than he wanted. “If you had to marry someone, but you could choose absolutely anyone, who would you choose?” Rukia looked up at Ichigo, a pointed look on her face. Ichigo found himself holding his breath again. “Me?”

Rukia nodded, staring down at her lap. “You.”

“How long do these arranged marriages take to organise?”

“Well, you get the initial match meeting, which tend to take weeks as you meet the potential suitors one at a time. Then you pick a suitor. Usually the first dates, as you would call them, are just meetings, similar to the initial one, where you just get to know each other, to see whether the match is appropriate, in front of family members from each side. That tends to take a couple of months, as there's often a lot of negotiation with Kuchiki weddings. Then you start meeting without the family. Generally it's expected that the couple spend at least a year together before getting engaged. The engagement tends to last about two years or so, as noble weddings tend to take a lot of planning, and there are usually a lot of compromises that have to be made. Each noble house will have their own traditions that they want honoured.”

The information gave Ichigo hope. It would be at least 3 or 4 years until she was married. It gave him some time to suck up to the Kuchiki family to maybe be considered as one of her suitors. Truthfully, Ichigo didn't know if he was in love with Rukia, but he knew he cared about her a great deal, and the idea of her getting married to someone else made his blood boil. And besides, if they weren't in love now, they had a few years in which they could fall in love. They had never dated before, they had never opened that door before, so maybe they would fall in love. Even if it didn't work out, Ichigo didn't think he'd be able to forgive himself if he didn't try. And imagine if it did work, the thought alone made Ichigo happy. He had to try.

“Rukia?”

“Hmm?”

“I'm gonna do something about this.”

Rukia stared at him. “What could you do though? This isn't something you can just fight your way through.”

Ichigo nodded. “I know. But I'll find a way. I always do.”

XxXxXxX

Rukia tried to itch her head as carefully as she could. She wasn't used to having ornaments in her hair, so they irritated her head, but she wouldn't hear the end of it if she ruined her hair. The first three match meetings had not gone well. All of them were so boring, to the point where Rukia genuinely struggled to pay attention. Her matchmaker entered the room Rukia was in. "Are you ready to meet your fourth potential match?"

Rukia bit back a sigh and nodded. The matchmaker starting to lead her to the room where her next 'match' waited, talking quickly the entire time.

"Rukia, this particular match was not only approved by your brother, but was actually put forward by him too, so you must make sure to leave a good impression." Rukia didn't listen to anything else her matchmaker said. Byakuya had actually put someone forward? He didn't seem at all approving of her getting married, but he had suggested someone? Who? All sorts of questions were running through her head. Her matchmaker opened the door and Rukia couldn't stop herself from gasping. "Ichigo?"

He smirked at her. "Hey."


	2. Match Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo and Rukia have their match meeting, and Rukia's left confused and nervous by the end. Meddling co-workers are not helping either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit of a short one, it's more of a build up of things to come really. The next chapter will probably be the same as well. I've got plot point planned but they take a little while to build up to in a story like this, so please bear with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Rukia's head was spinning. She couldn't even recall what had happened in the match meeting. But given that she had gotten through it with relative ease and without paying too much attention told her that it probably consisted of questions she already knew the answer to. All of the other match meetings were centred around finding out basic things about each other, like hobbies and whatnot. Seeing as her matchmaker clearly didn't know who Ichigo actually was, there was no reason that that meeting would be any different. She was glad for it actually. Rukia knew that Byakuya knew that she and Ichigo were close, but she rather he didn't know quite how close they were.

In her matchmaker's eyes, it was an initial match meeting with a Byakuya-approved suitor that had gone well. Rukia guessed that in Byakuya's eyes it was a probably needless meeting in terms of information, but necessary in terms of doing this whole potential suitor thing properly and traditionally. In Rukia's eyes however, it was completely pointless. She didn't need to hear what Ichigo spent his time doing, or his family history. She already knew it all. She was much more interested in why Byakuya had approved Ichigo of all people. She knew quite well that her brother had not approved of the boy in the past. Why the sudden change? And for that matter was Ichigo even serious? A small voice in the back of Rukia's head told her that Ichigo probably didn't even think about it before he leaped into the situation. She did expect him to do something, but not that. He became one of her potential suitors. How? Did he even realise what that entailed? Her mind was buzzing with questions.

"Hey."

Rukia jumped slightly. She had been too focused on her thoughts to even notice him approaching her bedroom. "Ichigo?"

It was more of a statement than a question. Ichigo assumed that Rukia was expecting him. "Is this seriously your bedroom? It's huge."

Rukia turned to face him properly as she nodded. "Yeah. It's a little too big if you ask me. For one person anyway."

"I'll say." Rukia arched an eyebrow at him. "You probably want me to explain me a few things, huh?"

Rukia rolled her eyes at him. "That would be preferable."

Ichigo flopped down on her bed, trying to decide where to start. "Ok, well. After...that night, I knew I had to do something about this whole arranged marriage thing, but I figured I couldn't just fight my way through it, and this was the solution I came up with."

Rukia just stared at him. He really hadn't thought it through. "Ichigo, do you even understand this situation? You seriously became one of my potential suitors because it was the only thing you could come up with? How did you even manage that anyway?"

Ichigo could tell that Rukia was irritated, but he wasn't sure why. He hoped that answering the questions wouldn't backfire on him. "I never said that becoming one of your potential suitors was the only thing I could come up with. It's just the one I went with. As for-"

"Why?"

Ichigo sighed. Neither of them were good at the whole talking about their emotions thing. Truth be told they talked a lot but never actually said anything. Most of their real communication was done non-verbally. But he couldn't really avoid this. Especially as it seemed important to Rukia. "It made the most sense. It was the least invasive for your family. It meant we could actually be together without hiding, assuming that's what you want anyway. At the very least you could use me for a couple years to give yourself some more time."

Rukia stared at him. Had he seriously just used the words 'at the very least you could use me'? Her eyes met his for a moment before he glanced away, looking a little embarrassed. That's when Rukia realised. He wasn't doing this just because she was desperate. He was doing this because he was desperate too. But it worried her. A lot. Ichigo was only nineteen. She didn't want to look down on him as if he was a child, but it was hard not to sometimes. He was nineteen. He could say that he was desperate to be with her, but just how much did he know love? Did he even know if he loved her? She couldn't possibly let him get himself in this situation. She could not trap him here. Divorce was not an option for noble couples. Especially nobles of her family's calibre. It was all well and good, willingly doing this now, but what about in ten years time?

"No."

Ichigo looked at her. "Huh?"

Rukia avoided his gaze. "Ichigo, I can't let you do this."

Ichigo scoffed. He had seen this coming. "Give me one good reason."

"You can't possibly be sure that you want to spend the rest of your life with me. You'd have to give up so much. And shinigami lives last a lot longer than human lives."

Ichigo scowl deepened. "Rukia, I know. Did you think that I just jumped into this without thinking?"

"You usually do."

"I've grown up a lot since you first met me."

Rukia gave him a pointed look. "That was only four years ago."

"My point still stands. I've thought about this. You need to take a breath and stop taking this so seriously. We've got a couple of years before your family start to expect an engagement. We've got time. If we don't work as a couple chances are we'll know by then."

Rukia glared at him. How could she possibly stop taking this so seriously? "But, if we don't work as a couple, then I've pretty much lost you, haven't I? It's a little hard to remain friends after that sort of thing."

Ichigo shook his head at her and got up from the bed, walking towards to her. "Ok, firstly, I'm pretty sure we kinda burned the whole going back to friendship bridge a couple of weeks ago." He sat down on her vanity table and leaned towards her, gently taking out the accessories that were decorating her hair as he spoke. "And secondly, if you're so worried about losing me, what makes you think we won't work as a couple?" Ichigo gave her a rare, gentle smile as he pulled out the last of her hairstyle and ran his fingers through her hair, attempting to get it to resemble her usual style. If Ichigo had to guess, the reason Rukia was doubting giving this a go was her own insecurities.

He bent down again and kissed her on the forehead. Rukia paused for a moment, before angling her head upwards and pulling him down to her, kissing him quickly on the lips. Ichigo knew that this was her way of accepting him as one of her potential suitors. It was a little hesitant, and more than a little nervous, but an agreement nonetheless. "Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

"How in the hell did you get Nii-sama to approve you as a suitor?"

Ichigo laughed a little awkwardly. "It's a long story. Why?"

"His reiatsu got a little...edgy when you initially came into the house. But it keeps getting worse, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be here much longer."

Ichigo grimaced. "Does your brother understand the meaning of the words 'over protective'?"

Rukia glared at him. "Like you're one to talk. Besides you can't really blame him."

"Why the hell not? We're only talking."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "You do realise that all he knows is what he can tell from our reiatsu, which is that his little sister and one of her potential suitors is in her bedroom."

Ichigo paused. "Ok, maybe I see your point. But still," he shrugged at her, "I can take him."

"Do not get in a fight with him."

"Yeah, that would hardly help my campaign to be your future husband huh?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You only just got me to agree to you being one of my potential suitors, let alone anything else."

Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, but you like me more than anyone else."

"Where do you get that confidence from?"

"Pretty sure it's in my blood."

Rukia smiled slightly, thinking about the whole family. "That wouldn't surprise me."

Ichigo looked in the direction of Byakuya's room. "Ok now even I'm feeling it, maybe I should go."

"Probably. Where are you staying anyway?"

"Your Captain is letting me stay in the squad 13 barracks."

"How did you get him to...Oh god, he's in this as well isn't he?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck with as sheepish smile on his face. "Little bit, yeah."

"Wait so how many people know about this?"

"Well your family, obviously, my family too, your Captain, the two third seats of your squad that I have forgotten the names of-"

"Sentaro and Kiyone?"

"Yeah, those two, they kinda butted into the conversation I was having with Ukitake."

Rukia nodded "They do that."

"That's all I think. Why?"

"Just so I know what to expect when I go to work tomorrow, that's all."

"Ah. Anyway I should go."

Rukia nodded and gave a small wave as Ichigo more or less dove out of her bedroom window. She shook her head. This was going to be interesting to say the least.

XxXxXxX

"So are you gonna marry him?"

"Oh, um-"

"Idiot! It's too soon to ask something like that!"

Rukia struggled to keep the smile on her face as she watched her third seats argue, again. As expected she got about 100 questions about her and Ichigo when she arrived at the office today. She was good friends with the two from way before she became a Vice-Captain, so she had never really wanted to use her authority to make them be quiet, but this morning it was very tempting. Especially as they asked questions that she hadn't even asked herself yet. Did she like him? Well obviously she liked him, but enough to think about getting married in a couple of years? In the grand scheme of things, a couple of years was actually a very short time. They had known each other for four years. Take out the 17 month gap and it was actually more like two and a half years. Add in the two to three years before the engagement and you got roughly 5 years. Could she really marry someone she's only known for 5 years? Rukia sighed as she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and got on with her work. Paperwork did not do itself, unfortunately.

Rukia stretched after completing a rather large stack of paperwork. Picking up the pile of paperwork that had to be stamped and signed by her Captain, she made her way over to Ukitake's desk and gently placed the pile on it. She went to leave but found her Captain in the doorway. "Captain! I didn't know you were in today."

The older man gave her a smile. "I've only just come in, bit of a slow start this morning."

"Are you sure you're well enough to be in today?" Rukia had been his Vice-Captain for a while now, and she knew that in the majority of cases where Ukitake had struggled to get up and out of bed in the morning, the rest of the day didn't go all too smoothly."

"I should be fine, but thank you."

Rukia nodded. "Still, let me make you some tea." Ukitake tried to protest but Rukia was having none of it. As he sat down after being handed his tea, he took note of the paperwork on his desk. It was more than some officers could complete in a day, but Rukia was a very hard worker and could usually complete a lot more in the time she had been in the office. "Rukia, is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. I'm just..." She trailed off as she caught sight of the expression on her Captain's face. "I guess I'm a little distracted today, that's all."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Ichigo would it?"

The look on Rukia's face told him that it was. Ukitake doubted she had anyone she could talk about this with. Or at least anyone she thought she could talk to.

"What's wrong? I would've thought you'd be happy."

"I'm fine, really. It's just...I don't know, I'm probably still in shock about it. That's all."

"You're nervous." Rukia paused before nodding slightly. She shouldn't be surprised that her Captain of several decades knew her so well. "Well, if I were you, I would talk to him about whatever it is that's bothering you."

"Really?"

Ukitake smiled. "Really. Communication is key when it comes to relationships."

Rukia paused for a moment, considering what her Captain had said. She nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Thanks Captain."

Ukitake gave her a warm smile. "I'm always here for you Rukia."

XxXxXxX

"So how does this whole matchmaking thing work exactly?"

Rukia sighed as she put her book down on her bedside table. "I need to finish all of the initial match meetings first, then I pick a suitor I want to continue with."

"So when do you finish these initial meetings?"

"A week or two."

Ichigo huffed. "That long?"

"Work gets in the way. What exactly are you spending your time doing at the minute anyway?"

"Running away from Kenpachi mainly."

Rukia smiled. "It's a good thing he hasn't got much of a sense of direction."

"You're telling me!"

The two of them ended up falling into silence, so Rukia picked up her book again, only to get interrupted a couple of minutes later. "What's wrong Rukia?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're quiet. More than usual anyway."

"I'm..." Rukia paused, looking up at Ichigo, remembering what Ukitake had said. "Nervous."

Ichigo couldn't stop himself from scowling more. "About?"

"Everything. What if something goes wrong?"

"Like what?"

"Like what if you feel differently about me in the future?"

"Rukia I've put up with you abusing me for years and I still wanna stick around, what does that tell you?"

"That you're a masochist. And that you get a lot of things wrong."

Ichigo glared at her. "Not really the answers I was looking for. But come on you know what I mean right?"

Rukia nodded. "Yeah. But still, a couple of years isn't that long."

Ichigo shrugged. "Plenty of humans get married after a couple of years and it works out fine. From what I've heard plenty of nobles get married after a couple of years and they work fine too."

"On the surface anyway."

"Well, true, but we've always been a good team. I know this is worrying you, but there's nothing to worry about at the minute. You won't know anything till you try. No one's forcing you to marry me specifically, so if we don't work it's not like we'll end up trapped together. Just see what happens for now, yeah?"

Rukia sighed and nodded. It was a little more difficult than just deciding to stop worrying, which she couldn't do anyway, but it helped that Ichigo clearly wasn't nervous. It reassured her that the two of them could work. If she was left to her own thoughts she had a tendency to focus on the potential problems rather than the potential benefits.

"Out of interest, can I actually see you outside of your bedroom, or what?"

Rukia shook her head. "Probably not the best idea. This whole thing is supposed to be done properly and traditionally. I'm not supposed to see any potential suitors outside of meetings. So it's probably not a good idea to be seen together outside of here."

"That seems ridiculous. Surely everyone knows that we're friends?"

"You'd be surprised how sheltered some nobles can be. It's not worth risking. Besides, give it a week or two after I finish all of the initial meetings, and then no one would see it as weird or scandalous."

Ichigo spoke with a cheeky smile on his face."So you're definitely picking me then?"

"As if you're even asking me that."

"Oh I dunno, for all you know you could meet your soul mate next week in a match meeting."

Rukia shook her head. "Nope."

He smirked. "You suddenly seem sure."

"I can't say for sure that you are my soul mate, but you are definitely more likely than some pretty faced noble who doesn't understand the meaning of the words hard work."

Ichigo pointed a finger at Rukia and spoke in a fake offended tone. "Are you saying I'm not pretty?"

Rukia burst out into laughter, making Ichigo smile.


	3. Family Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Ichigo and Rukia find themselves nervous as the families get directly involved in the arranged marriage, and on top of that, Rukia is still trying to get used to the idea of being in a relationship with Ichigo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only just noticed that I had only posted this chapter on ff.net and not here as well! I'm sorry about that. Hopefully the next chapter will be posted relatively soon, I have it roughly planned out, but unfortunately I won't be up for writing it for a little while (I find out my exam results which determine which university I go soon, so I am a little distracted to say the least). Also please ignore that the Captain line up doesn't quite match the recent chapters. I started writing the story a while back now, and given that it's unclear on what's happened to some Captains, I feel it's easier to stick to the lineup before the Quincy arc. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Rukia would've smiled at Ichigo's nervousness if she wasn't just as bad. It was a rare thing, seeing Ichigo actually get anxious about something. Rukia had been telling him the importance of this meeting for days now and yet he still underestimated it, and now it was showing. Both Ichigo and Rukia were listening closely to the Kuchiki elders arguing.

"This match will not work. The boy isn't even noble!"

"Actually, he is half Shiba."

One of them scoffed. "A fallen clan. And the other half is Kurosaki. I have never even heard of this name."

Ichigo took a deep breath. It was incredibly irritating to have people argue about you while you were in the same room. He was starting to understand why Byakuya seemed so high-strung all the time.

Another elder spoke up. "Kurosaki is the name of the man who practically turned Soul Society into chaos all for the sake of breaking Rukia out of custody."

All of the elders turned to face Ichigo. The man in question felt himself starting to sweat. "Are you related to that man?"

Ichigo swallowed. "Actually, I was that man."

"But you stated earlier than you do not currently hold a position in the Gotei 13."

Ichigo nodded. "Yes."

"You are not even an officer of the Gotei 13, and you defeated two Captains, including the Head of this clan?"

Ichigo didn't speak, his throat felt dry. He nodded. He was surprised that they didn't know about all of this. At the minute it seemed like this meeting could go either way.

One of the elders turned to the aforementioned Captain. "What exactly are your reasons for recommending this young man to be Rukia's suitor?"

Byakuya answered without missing a beat. "They are a good match. Rukia belongs to a noble family. Ichigo has noble blood. Yes, blood from a fallen clan, but what he lacks in nobility he makes up for in social standing and power. There is not a single member of Gotei 13 who is not aware of who he is. He did indeed defeat me, four years ago. He has also been steadily increasing in power ever since. When he does assume a position in the Gotei 13, and I believe he will at some point in the future, it will be a Captain's position if one is available. And they care for each other. The two of them have saved each other's lives countless times."

Rukia struggled to keep the smile off her face. After catching sight of Rukia's face, Ichigo struggled as well. One of the elders spoke up. "No member of this family has ever married anyone who wasn't pure blood, save for yourself, and I'm sure you remember that was met with opposition as well. It severely damaged the name's reputation."

Ichigo noticed that the elders seemed to be divided now. The majority seemed to be in favour, probably because of how desperate they were for heirs, but others seemed too stubborn to let a few traditions slide.

Byakuya spoke as calmly as ever. "But Rukia isn't of pure blood either, so we can justify this match, given his social standing."

It was true. It was all about appearances. An adopted member of the Kuchiki family could get away with marrying someone who wasn't of pure blood if they were an incredibly powerful, Captain-level shinigami that everyone knew of, because it looked impressive. Truth be told, due to being adopted Rukia got a lot less potential suitors than your average noble woman. Having an adopted family member had changed the Kuchiki's reputation. There were plenty of noble families who looked down upon Rukia. There was one family who absolutely refused to communicate with the Kuchiki family until they 'purged their family of common blood'. The looked down upon member of the family marrying a talented Captain-level shinigami? It would mend the family's reputation a little bit. Besides, Ichigo had more noble blood than Rukia did.

"What about the family?"

Byakuya stood up before replying. "I expected you to ask that, so I invited the rest of the family to visit this afternoon. The rest of the family consists of Ichigo's father, Isshin Shiba, and two daughters-"

The elders looked startled. "Isshin Shiba left Soul Society for the human world!"

"Yes. Their mother was human."

"Was?"

"Masaki Kurosaki died when the children were young."

A different elder talked before the previous one could again. "So this boy is half human!?"

"Yes."

Ichigo never thought he'd be so glad for Byakuya talking for him. Being able to answer everything the elders threw at him without batting an eyelid took skill. If it was him answering the questions he'd probably be shouting by now.

"He would have to give up his human life to marry Rukia."

"He is aware of that."

"What about the rest of family?"

Byakuya gestured for the people in the room to rise. "It would be better to discuss that with the family present. For now, this meeting is dismissed. We will meet back here at two o'clock. Ichigo, Rukia, you are welcome to use the gardens until lunch, where you will meet the Kurosaki family in the main dining room."

The elders stared at Byakuya. After the future bride picks the suitor she wished to pursue, the families were supposed to meet and both families were supposed to consent to the relationship before the couple were allowed to go off on their own. The fact that Byakuya was suggesting that Rukia and Ichigo spend time alone in the gardens meant only one thing. He, the Head of the Kuchiki family was not only supporting the couple, but he was in fact pushing for them. And it was a little hard to argue with the Head of the family.

XxXxXxX

Rukia let out a heavy sigh as she sat down on the bench opposite a stream. Ichigo sat down next to her. "Is this what it's always like?"

"No. Things don't get debated very often. We have our own way of doing things and have done for thousands of years. But now, their only chances of getting heirs is through an adopted family member. It's hardly a normal situation for the family, so a lot of arguments come with it because different people have different ideas of how it should be handled."

"Until your brother comes along that is."

Rukia smiled. "I have to ask, what did you do to get Nii-sama to approve of you?"

"I didn't do much to be honest. We just had a very long conversation. He told me that the elders had been bugging him to get remarried for years until he admitted that he had no intention of doing that. So they started bugging you instead. I think he feels guilty to be honest. Byakuya said that the elders pretty much see you as their last hope. Although I would've thought they'd be plenty of people who could overtake as Head of the family."

Rukia shook her head. "Yes and no. There are plenty of nieces, nephews, cousins and whatnot who could take over if need be. But the family much prefer to have an heir who is in the immediate family, usually a sibling or a son or daughter. We haven't had a Head who wasn't in the immediate family for centuries. But Nii-sama's an only child and he doesn't plan on having any children. Because I was adopted by Nii-sama himself and I'm the little sister of his late wife, my future children and I just about count as immediate family."

"Ah I see. Because they want an heir from the immediate family that badly then they can justify using you. I suppose because Hisana was the one who looked after you when you were a baby until she had to leave you, and that Byakuya adopted you when you were still in the academy, you kinda work as the child from their marriage."

Rukia nodded. "In a way, yeah."

Ichigo paused to sigh before going back to the original topic. "He actually really cares about you a lot. A lot more than it seems anyway. I told him that I wanted to become your suitor, I told him about that night-"

"You did what?"

"Relax. I don't have a death wish. I told him about our conversation and that we kissed and that was it." Rukia stared at him for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Then he said he'd prefer that you end up with someone you liked and cared about rather than some random noble dude just for the sake of the family, so he agreed to help me out anyway he could." Rukia smiled at Ichigo's words.

For a while, the two of them just sat, watching the garden and it's wildlife, until Ichigo spoke, noticing that Rukia was rolling her head.

"Neck pain?"

"Yeah. Having my hair styled like this makes my head heavy and it strains my neck."

Ichigo nodded. It didn't surprise him. She had extensions and a number of hair ornaments in her hair. Both of which added weight onto her head, particularly the ornaments. Most of them seemed to be made out of jewel-encrusted solid metal. "Hopefully the meeting this afternoon won't go on for too long so you can undo your hair." Rukia nodded.

"I always feel bad though. The servants always spend hours doing this for me to just take it all out again."

"Yeah but if it hurts..."

"I guess. Do you know if Karin and Yuzu are getting their hair styled?"

"I don't know. Yuzu usually wears her hair down but she might not want to pass up the opportunity to have expensive accessories in her hair." He spoke with a small smile on his face. "Karin usually wears her hair up but might not want to have accessories like that put in her hair. So it could go either way."

Rukia smiled. "Sounds about right."

Ichigo tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know, it might be a bitch to style and wear, but...it suits you." He cupped her face gently. Rukia smiled again, her usually pale complexion tinged with pink. Ichigo leaned forward and kissed her, happy when she reciprocated without hesitation.

"Oh! Um..."

Rukia pulled away from Ichigo to meet the eyes of one of her personal maids. The woman cleared her throat before speaking. "Kuchiki-sama, lunch will be ready within the next ten minutes if you and Kurosaki-sama would like to make your way to the dining room."

Rukia gave the maid a kind smile. "Thank you." The maid bowed and quickly scurried off.

"Wow. Being called Kurosaki-sama is weird."

Rukia nodded. "I've asked her to not call me Kuchiki-sama hundreds of times but she never does. It's part of the job description really."

"Yeah. Come on, let's go to the dining room, I haven't seen Dad or the twins for a month now."

XxXxXxX

Rukia never got to see Yuzu and Karin the last time she went to the human world, which meant she hadn't seen them for about five months. It surprised her how much they could grow in that time. At the age of fifteen now, the twins had more or less grown into beautiful women, both taking after their mother, although in different ways. They were both sitting neatly in the dining room, eating with more finesse than Rukia was used to seeing. Karin was wearing a deep blue kimono with silver embroidery, matching hair pins holding her hair up tightly in a bun, with some strands left to frame her face. Yuzu was wearing a kimono made up of a patterned light pink material, her hair tied to one side in a loose plait with floral hair ornaments weaved through. The kimonos weren't as nice as the very expensive red one that Rukia had been wearing all day, but that was to be expected. Besides, they suited the twins well.

Rukia noticed that the girls were a little more fidgety that usual, although she supposed that this was a normal reaction. Yuzu had a tendency to get nervous when meeting new people, and the fact that Isshin was behaving in a mature manner for once was clearly unnerving Karin. Said girl finished her plate and turned to Rukia. "So, how exactly does this thing work? Do we just sit there?"

Rukia nodded. "Yeah. Don't speak unless you're spoken to. They'll speak to Ichigo and your father the most."

Yuzu finished her mouthful before speaking up. "If they do talk to us, what sort of things would they ask us?"

Isshin answered before Rukia could. "Your achievements, your ambitions, your plans for life, that sort of thing. If this whole thing goes ahead, you could end up being the aunts of the future Head of the Kuchiki family."

Rukia agreed with Isshin. "Any question they send your way will actually be them judging how impressive you are. So don't be afraid of boasting. But don't make it obvious that that's what you're doing."

Karin turned to Rukia again. "Are they gonna try and make us all stay here?"

"You mean here in the Kuchiki estate, or Soul Society?"

Karin shrugged. "Both, I guess."

"Possibly. I know you still don't know what you want to do in the future. Just make it clear that it's you making the decision, and don't let them force anything on you and you'll be fine. If they do suggest that you guys move here, it probably means that they like you. As for staying in the Kuchiki state, it would only be a suggestion. I lived in my squad's barracks until recently. And in the future, unless you married someone in the Kuchiki family, you'd be expected to move out and live with your husband."

Yuzu frowned slightly. "If you and Ichi-nii do get married, and our families merge, does that mean we'd be expected to marry really high noble people too?"

Ichigo spoke up, having asked that same question to Byakuya weeks ago, wanting to make sure that his decisions wouldn't decide things for his sisters. "If you stayed in the human world, you could marry whoever you want. If you moved here, all that would be expected of you would be to marry someone with some noble blood or with a seated position in the squads. And even then they might let that slide because we're outsiders to the family, and you guys wouldn't be in the immediate family."

Isshin smiled at his daughters. "And even if they didn't let it slide, you'd probably be fine. You'd be surprised how many shinigami have noble blood in them. And I expect you two would move up to seated positions quickly enough, so most of the people you would interact with would be seated officers. So I don't think it would affect you too much."

Yuzu looked at her father. "Even me?" It had taken a while for Yuzu to develop enough to be able to see spirits. In terms of ability, Yuzu felt like it took years for her to grow the same amount that Karin had managed in months. Because of this, she felt self-conscious in Soul Society, as the name Kurosaki seemed to be associated with strength.

Isshin grinned. "Definitely. After being a Captain, I got good at guessing who will be strong and in what. Your brother is incredibly strong in terms of actual strength and fighting ability, and he's good with speed, but otherwise, he's not so great. He's only been getting better at sensing reiatsu recently, and he sucks at Kidō. I know it took you a while to learn how to sense reiatsu, but you're already better at it than your brother. Just because you might not be suited towards fighting doesn't mean you won't be strong. The different squads specialise in different things."

Karin perked up. "They do? What kind of specialities?" About two years ago, after he had given up on hiding from his family, Ichigo had sat down with the girls and explained all about the shinigami side of his life. Which also prompted Isshin to explain things to the twins as well. It had cleared a lot of things up, and they had visited Soul Society once or twice, but they didn't know all the ins and outs.

Isshin and Ichigo looked over to Rukia, hoping she would answer. Ichigo was hardly an expert, and Isshin didn't know if things had changed or not since he was a Captain. "Well the first division isn't specialised as such, but it has a reputation of being the best squad with the members being classed as model shinigami. The second squad is the stealth force, in charge of law and order. And I think there are a couple of specialities within that as well. The third has no speciality. The fourth specialises in healing. The divisions from fifth to eighth have no speciality as far as I'm aware, but the sixth is another division that is seen as a model squad. The ninth division is the security force, and is known for overseeing arts and culture, and is in charge of the Seireitei newspaper. The tenth also has no speciality, whereas the eleventh division focuses solely on fighting. The twelfth are responsible for research and development, and the creation of new technology and equipment, but I really wouldn't join that squad if I were you. And then there's the thirteenth squad, which is the one I'm in."

Isshin set down his chopsticks. "Not to mention, there are plenty of different jobs within the squads as well. I'd say that you probably have more choice in the human world, but I don't think it's by much."

Karin spoke up. "So if I wanted to be a doctor I could be?"

"Yep."

Karin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Ok, what if a decade in I decide that I'm bored of one occupation, can I change?"

Rukia nodded. "All you need to do is request a squad change. Renji started in the fifth squad, moved into the eleventh squad, before settling into the sixth squad. It's not set in stone."

Isshin nodded along with Rukia's words. "It's actually not uncommon for shinigami to ask to switch squads. Shinigami live for a long time, and could you imagine doing the same thing for three hundred years? Shinigami shift round the squads a lot."

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed. "Until you're a Captain."

"Yeah, but ignoring paperwork, being a Captain doesn't get too boring. There's always something to deal with."

XxXxXxX

Karin was hardly the type to get nervous, but even she stumbled a bit with her words. "Well, I'm not all that sure on what I want to do when I get older, but it's either become a shinigami, or stay in the human world and get a job, like a doctor or something." She inwardly cringed. That didn't sound impressive at all.

An elder studied her. "Not much of a plan."

Ichigo watched as Karin's eyes narrowed, praying she wouldn't snap at the man. Karin glared at the elder for a moment before sitting back on her heels. "Well with the grades I'm achieving at school I should be able to get any human job that I like. I'm also already better than my brother in some shinigami skills, like sensing reiatsu, and I'm highly trained in martial arts, so I'll be fine with whichever route I take."

Ichigo struggled against the smug expression trying to make its way onto his face. Over the years Karin had gotten very talented at making perfectly civilised words sound like the words 'fuck you', a skill Ichigo was delighted she had.

Another elder spoke up. "Apart from your high grades at school, what else have you achieved?"

"I'm a qualified nurse, I'm the Captain of a sports team and I'm pretty sure I've defeated over 100 hollows over the course of 3 years."

"Given your father's and your brother's accomplishments, that isn't particularly impressive."

"It is when you consider that I don't have a Zanpaktō, and that I've never actually entered my soul form."

"You...You defeated over a hundred hollows while in your human body?" Karin simply grinned at them. "Yes, well, moving on." The elder turned to Yuzu. "What are your plans?"

"I know I want to go into healing and healthcare, although I'm not sure whether I want to do that as a human or a shinigami yet."

"And what about your achievements?"

"Well I'm also a qualified nurse, and I'm the student council representative for my class."

Rukia watched the exchange carefully. It was clear the elders weren't sure on what a student council representative was, but they weren't about to ask. However, it wasn't particularly important whether they understood or not, it sounded impressive, so it was good enough. Both girls were handling themselves well, better than Rukia when she had her first noble meeting.

"I believe you have asked the family all of the questions you wished to."

One elder put a hand up, making Byakuya pause. "Hold on." He turned to the twins. "Do you understand that if your brother marries into this family he would have to stay here in this world, and your access to him would be very limited if you decide to stay in the human world?"

Yuzu nodded. "It's been made clear to us, yes."

"Are you sure you are happy with that?"

Karin was starting to get a little sick of all the questions. Especially that last one. She knew full well that the elders didn't care about their feelings in the matter. They were trying to find reasons to not approve the match. "Do you think we'd be here if we weren't ok with it?"

Ichigo glanced at Karin before looking over to Byakuya, hoping he would get the hint to end the meeting before she offended the elders. Luckily, he did. "If that's the last question, then we can move on to the last part of the meeting. I believe the Kurosaki family have made it clear that they accept the match, now we need to determine whether the Kuchiki family agree. All those who disagree please raise your hands." Ichigo resisted the urge to groan. Five hands were raised. There were ten elders, and he had no idea what happened in the case of tie-breakers. Byakuya observed his fellow family members before speaking again. "It appears we have an even split. And as tradition goes, in the event of an even split, the head of house makes the decision, so the Kuchiki family consents to the match."

XxXxXxX

"So, what do we do now?"

Rukia turned round to face Ichigo. "Well the families have consented to the match, so I guess we're free to do what we like."

"Ah. You know it's funny, it feels like I've been waiting forever for it be consented to, but now that is has, I have no idea what to do."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "How about we spend time with your sisters? Today was the first time we've seen them in ages."

"Sounds like a plan. Doing what exactly?"

"Ask them, they're the guests in this situation."

After finding the girls in the rooms they were going to be staying in for the next couple days, it was agreed that Ichigo and Rukia would take Karin and Yuzu round Soul Society (Isshin had already left the estate, catching up with the tenth squad), getting them familiar with the surroundings. Regardless of what the twins chose to do in life, if the match went ahead, they'd find themselves in Soul Society at least occasionally. The four got changed (there was no sense in walking around in expensive clothing that could get damaged) and left to walk around the squads.

Despite being in normal shinigami dress, Ichigo and Rukia had been getting a lot of attention from passer-bys. Admittedly they had Karin and Yuzu with them, who were wearing human clothes, which would naturally garner more attention than usual, but it wasn't that weird to see Ichigo with people in human clothes. Rukia sighed as she realised the increased attention was probably due to rumours spreading about the two of them. "What's up?"

Rukia looked up at Ichigo. "Nothing. Just...Should have expected the extra attention is all."

Karin turned her head, looking at the two shinigami while still walking. "Oh, so you don't usually get this much attention then? I thought it was weird, having all these people staring at us."

Ichigo turned to Karin. "Well we're gonna get some people staring, you two are clearly human which isn't normal for here, and Rukia's a Vice-Captain, and then there's me."

Karin raised an eyebrow, making Rukia smile. "Your brother's pretty famous around here."

"Yo Ichigo!"

All four looked up to find the speaker. "Oh hey. How come you're so far away from the eleventh?"

Ikkaku hopped down from the building. "Patrol duty. Didn't know you were around. Explains why I've barely seen the Captain lately."

Ichigo nodded. "Been here a couple weeks, sorting some things out."

"Yeah I heard some unseated officers gossiping about you becoming Rukia's suitor. Is it true then?" Both Ichigo and Rukia nodded, Rukia a bit more shyly. "Congrats."

"Thanks. Ikkaku, these are my little sisters, Karin and Yuzu. We're kinda giving them a tour of the place."

"Oh? Whole family moving over here then?" Ikkaku had become decent friends with Ichigo over the years and had had a few conversations with him about his sisters. He had heard that the twins had been considering becoming shinigami.

Karin shook her head. "Not sure yet."

Ikkaku grinned at the twins. "Well if you're half as good at fighting as your brother, you're welcome in the eleventh. But anyway, I should go, it's hardly patrol duty if I spend the whole time in one spot."

After about 15 minutes of walking, with more people stopping to talk to Ichigo, Yuzu leaned over to Rukia. "Ichigo really does know everyone huh?"

"More like the other way round, but yeah."

"It's kinda daunting. Like if we did move here people would already know about us when we know nothing about them."

Rukia nodded. "That's true. It would be something you'd have to get used to. Especially if you make your way up to high seated positions."

Karin joined into the conversation. "I take it that most officers know the Captains and Vice-Captains then?"

Rukia nodded. "Pretty much all officers know about the Captains and Vice-Captains, things like characteristics and achievements that sort of thing. Don't always know them by appearance, but that's why we have the Captain haoris and Vice-Captain badges."

Ichigo scoffed. "Yeah but most of the time it's obvious whose who."

Yuzu cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

There are certain Captains that stand out. I mean Byakuya's obvious because the whole nobility thing. Komamura's obvious because he's a huge wolf man." Ichigo paused for a moment, trying not to laugh at the twin's faces. "Tōshirō's obvious because he's the youngest with bright white hair. Suì-Fēng and Unohana are easy to figure out because they're the only female Captains. Kensei's obvious because you don't get many people going round with a 69 tattooed to their chest. And so on, the ones you can't recognise you can figure out by process of elimination. The Vice-Captains aren't much better either."

Karin nodded slowly. "Shinigami seem quite...eccentric."

Yuzu nodded, agreeing with Karin. "Well it doesn't matter what they look like. How good they are at being a Captain is what matters."

Rukia nodded. "Yes, well it differs for every Captain. Does also depend on how you individually define a good Captain."

XxXxXxX

Ichigo smiled as he realised that Byakuya clearly had a soft spot for Rukia. It was hard to tell really, unless you spent a lot of time with the both of them, and Ichigo had gotten the impression that Byakuya only tolerated her. But it was the only explanation as to how Rukia had managed to convince Byakuya to have dinner with him and the rest of the family. He did look quite uncomfortable. Although that could've been because Isshin knew Byakuya back when he still a child, a fact that brought Ichigo great joy. He couldn't imagine Byakuya as anything other than the adult Captain that he was now. But the stories of Byakuya's adolescence were amusing nonetheless. After a while Ichigo started feeling a little guilty though (Byakuya was trying hard to be a part of family dinner, for Rukia's sake) so he changed the subject to how school was going for the twins, which Byakuya was a little more willing to take part in. After two hours, the twins decided to head to bed (the two seemed to have adopted some sort of buddy system so if they ended up lost, they wouldn't be lost alone, although Ichigo guessed this was more for Yuzu's sake than Karin's), which led to the rest of the group retiring for the night.

Rukia smiled as she flopped backwards onto her bed. "Our families actually get along."

"Well, your brother gets along with us. We already knew that you got along with the twins and dad."

"Except for the elders and the extended family, who don't really count, Nii-sama and I are the Kuchiki family, so my statement's still true."

Ichigo sat down on the bed, next to where Rukia was lying. "Can't argue with that. But dinner did go surprisingly well. Even when dad starting telling stories about Byakuya. It's nice to know that Byakuya once acted like a normal person." Rukia punched him lightly in the side. "Still, it's good that it went well. I'd hate to have a distant family."

Rukia nodded. "Yeah."

Ichigo looked at her when her tone of voice changed. "What's wrong?" Rukia shook her head. Ichigo lied down next to her so their faces were level. "You got nervous again."

Rukia sighed as she put her arm over her eyes and nodded. "Sorry."

"Sorry about what exactly?"

"That I keep getting nervous."

Ichigo stayed silent for a moment before talking. "It's ok to be nervous. I mean, it's probably pretty normal to be nervous, but I think you keep jumping ahead." Rukia took her arm off her head and looked at Ichigo. "You're not getting nervous about spending time with me or anything, you're getting nervous about the idea of us getting serious and getting married, which is way off into the future. And whether that actually goes ahead is completely up to you. Plus you know, that decision isn't for years yet. I know it's hard to stop, but try and stop worrying about that for now. Just try and enjoy it. Don't treat this as something your family's forcing you to do, but something you want to do."

Rukia nodded. "Yeah. I agree with you, it's just...difficult. How are you not nervous?"

"I never said I wasn't. But I'm probably in a better state than you. I don't know, I guess that this whole situation affects me less. I mean you have family elders breathing down your neck, the family reputation to uphold, while balancing your job, I don't really have those pressures. My family love you and I don't have a job that ties me down somewhere. I mean, my biggest worry was that my decision would affect the twins' future, but it turns out that's fine and they can do what they choose, so yeah, I have less things to worry about than you."

"Hmm. What would you rather they chose?"

Ichigo looked at her. "You mean what would I rather the twins pick future-wise?"

"Yeah."

Ichigo thought for a moment. "It's hard. Both have their pros and cons. I mean they'd be safer in the human world, but they'd be close if they became shinigami. To be honest, I don't think I'd care which, as long as they're happy."

Rukia nodded. "I think they'd do great either way." The two stayed silent for a while, just lying next to each other, before Rukia spoke up again. "Ichigo? Is it really ok with them for you to move here?"

Ichigo sighed. "I think they were both sad when I told them, but I think they saw it coming before I did."

"I feel guilty. Like I'm taking you away from them or something."

"Well...Yes and no. You might have been the one who gave me shinigami powers in the first place, and yeah you're a pretty big factor into the decision of moving here, but you're not the only reason. There are career choices that I could choose without regrets in the human world, but nothing fits me like being a shinigami. It's what feels right. I think I was bound to become a permanent shinigami at some point, you're just speeding up the process, that's all. And I think the twins know that. Dad definitely does. And if they don't realise it yet, I think they'd understand when they get older, when they find that thing they really want to do with their lives."

Rukia sighed. "I guess."

"Besides, Yuzu actually squealed when she found out that we're dating. They're happy for us."

Rukia smiled slightly. "They have been rooting for us for a while haven't they?"

"Yeah. So try not to worry. They're not thrilled that I'm leaving, but they love you. And they're happy we're together now."

Rukia nodded. "Ok. I will try not to worry."

"Speaking of being together, we haven't actually gone on a proper date yet."

Rukia's small smile got bigger. "What did you have in mind?"

Ichigo thought for a moment. "Well I would say dinner, but I have no idea where would be good for a date, and I have no Soul Society money."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "I'll pay. You paid for me plenty of times in the human world, it's only fair. So you want to go out to eat at some point?"

"If you want to."

Rukia nodded, rolling on her side to face Ichigo, smile back on her face. "Sure."


End file.
